Aroa Biosurgery poised for global growth

Mesynthes renamed for new strategic direction

Auckland June 22, 2015: Mesynthes Ltd, a privately held regenerative medicine company, has been renamed Aroa Biosurgery Ltd (Aroa) to reflect its new strategic focus on soft tissue repair and reconstruction.

Brian Ward, Chief Executive Officer, says New Zealand-based Aroa is targeting the international biosurgery market with its Reinforced Bioscaffold portfolio for abdominal wall reconstructions, including complex hernia.

During past seven years the medical devices company has transitioned from its initial focus on developing active wound care products to designing, developing and manufacturing a range of proprietary soft tissue repair products for medical use. Recently it has the secured the assistance of two US-based board members John Pinion II (Roche, Genentech and Baxter) and Steve Engle (ex-Xoma and La Jolla and a leading life sciences advisor).

“Our first product Endoform Dermal Template™, which is used in diabetic and venous ulcers treatments, has gained us considerable momentum,” Mr Ward says. “We’ve sold more than one million units in the US, which means we have had a significant impact on treating wounds that had previously not responded to conventional treatments.”

“Building on that we have created a proprietary biosurgery platform. One of the first products is our novel Reinforced Bioscaffold portfolio for complex hernia. These products change the standard of care and overcome important limitations of existing products.”

Mr Ward says the team at Aroa will continue to use its technology to develop a range of regenerative tissue substitutes for medical conditions where impaired healing leads to serious consequences for patients.

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About Aroa Biosurgery:

Aroa Biosurgery (Aroa) is a privately held company that has developed Endoform™, a novel extracellular matrix biosurgery platform for soft tissue repair and reconstruction. Aroa recognizes the company’s New Zealand heritage. Aroā is Maori for ‘understanding’ and the company’s vision is to be at the forefront of understanding how biology, structural form and human factors can unlock the body’s intrinsic power to heal. See www.aroa.com for more.

 For more information contact:

Brian Ward

CEO

Aroa Biosurgery Ltd

Ph: +64 21 727646

Email: brian.ward@aroabio.com